Greg Abbott takes oath of office as Texas governor

State-By-State Coverage

In his inaugural address, Abbott takes swipe at Washington for threatening state’s “sovereignty”

♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitcs.com editor

AUSTIN, Texas (CFP) — Republican Greg Abbott took the oath of office as Texas governor with a pledge to keep his state “on a path that ensures that years from now, people will stand on this very ground as grateful to this generation as we are to past generations.”

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott

During his inauuration as the Lone Star State’s 48th governor January 20, Abbott also took a swipe at Washington’s perceived intrusions into his state’s authority.

“As governor, I will continue my legacy of pushing back against Washington if they spend too much, regulate too much or violate our state sovereignty,” he said. “Any government that uses the guise of fairness to rob us of our freedom will get a uniquely Texas response — ‘Come and take it.'”

“We Texans aren’t spoiling for a fight, but we won’t shrink from one.”

Abbott, 57, who served eight years as state attorney general before winning the governorship in November, said the priorities of his administration would include road construction, increasing the water supply and keeping Texas “number one in the nation for job creation.”

Abbott also noted the unusual nature of his ascent in state politics: His wife wife, Cecelia, is Texas’s first Latina first lady, and Abbott himself uses a wheelchair after being paralyzed in an accident 30 years ago.

“I am living proof that we live in a state where a young man’s life can literally be broken in half, and yet he can still ruse up to become (governor.)”

Abbott succeeds Republican Rick Perry, who served 14 years as governor, the longest tenure in Texas history. Perry is considering a bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.